WORLD AIDS DAY

It is 1980, and the world as we know it, changed forever all due to a life robbing disease called AIDS.  It’s hard to imagine the world without this disease.  For someone like myself, I can remember a time when our world was AIDS free.  But then I look at my daughter and my grandchildren and realize that this disease has been a part of their world just as long as they have been alive…and there is still no cure.  Today, is World AIDS Day. 

Through the tireless efforts of the gay community, researchers, doctors, and philanthropic organizations, tremendous advances in education, prevention and the medical treatment of AIDS have been made through the years.  But it’s not enough, the epidemic continues to disproportionately impact gay and bisexual men, transgender women, youth 13-24… especially in communities of color.  According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are over a million Americans living with HIV and approximately 500,000 new infections every year.  The highest rate among that group is found among young black men. 
Of late, the silence about this epidemic is deafening.  We live each day in a world where people are either living with this disease or finding out HOW to live the rest of their lives with this disease and our discussions about it has seemingly come to a halt.  Why is that?  Have we become desensitized to it, accepting it status quo, treating it as if it were as common as the flu or the common cold?  What will it take for you as an individual or better yet, we as a community to restart conversations within our own families and with each other?

The world as I knew it is no more, and I have come to realize that the conversations that I will have with my family are much more complex than the conversations my parents and grandparents had with me and my sister.   But you can best believe that we will continue have the hard hitting talks, the uncomfortable conversations and brutal honesty necessary to educate and inform and I pray that you and your family continue to have these types of talks as well.

Peace and blessings,

Phaedra